Hi, all—
What is Sea Fever? English Poet Laureate John Masefield expressed it best in his poem of the same name. Since Sea-Fever was first published in 1902, it falls within the public domain—so I can share it with you in its entirety.
Sea-Fever
I must down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by,
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.
I must down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
And all I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the sea-gulls crying.
I must down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trick's over.
Ask anyone who's been to sea & they'll agree: Masefield nailed it. Like most, I remember the moment I caught the bug. In your last Reader Crew News, I shared a photo of my inaugural ensign salute with the US Navy's saltiest chief—my dad. He's the reason I succumbed. I was eleven. I'd gone on a dependents' cruise aboard the USS Blakely. She was out of Charleston at the time & my dad was the ship's bosun.
The Atlantic was testy that day & I was the only dependent not clinging to a commode below decks when my dad had me follow him to the port side. He told me to look out over the ocean. For a while, I saw nothing but open water—and then, this:
That's a photo of a submarine doing an emergency blow to the surface. Modern US Navy subs displace roughly 8-19,000 tons of water, depending on their class. Punch a sub's main ballast tanks with enough high-pressure air, and from the surface, it's like watching Poseidon himself explode from the deep.
As a Navy brat, I'd been flirting with the ocean since I was in diapers. But in that moment, I was well & truly hooked. I looked up at my dad right then & told him I was going to sea, just like him. It took a few years—and Congress had to open up surface warfare billets to women—but I made it. 😁
But that moment? That's why I joined the Fleet. In my next Reader Crew News, I'll confess why I eventually said my goodbyes.
But that moment? That's why I joined the Fleet. In my next Reader Crew News, I'll confess why I eventually said my goodbyes.
—Candace